Girl Talk
by Zapwing
Summary: Miko wallows. Arcee comforts. Post 'Hurt'. Contains some language.


**...**

**Girl Talk**

**...**

It is past the evening now, and the sun has set. Jasper, Nevada is quiet. Autobot Outpost Omega One is quiet. The main bay is quiet. The medical bay is quiet. Miko is quiet.

Arcee stands nearby. She hasn't been able to recharge. She's not sure if she will be able to recharge tonight. Because she's worried. More than worried, she's scared, somethng she will rarely admit. She'd tossed and turned, trying to catch at least forty winks, but in the end, she gave up trying to power down and decided to talk a walk around base to clear her processor. She needs time to reflect. She needs time to think. And that's when she passes by the med bay, and sees Miko, and her intakes catch in her throat when she sees the young girl still sitting on her guardian's chest plate.

She'd heard what they'd done to Hardshell. Team Prime had heard what they'd done to Hardshell. It's revenge, plain and simple, and Arcee knows what it's liek to want revenge. But then she remembers that moment when Wheeljack had returned, and she remembers that abject pain in Miko's eyes, the sort of pain that tugs at your spark painfully.

Primus, was that what getting revenge was like?

They hadn't had the heart to drop her back home. They'd made up an excuse, said she was at a sleepover with some friends, and thank Primus, they'd bought it. They know Miko wouldn't leave the Wrecker's side, and even if they do try to get her home, she won't leave unless it was Bulkhead dropping her off. Miko is stubborn like that. Humans are stubborn like that.

Arcee bites her lip. She approaches the berth quietly, in case Miko is sleeping, but she isn't because she hears a sniffle and a sob, and the femme stops in her tracks. Cybertronians don't produce tears. They feel sad, yes, but they don't exactly cry in the same sense, just a sort of heaviness in their spark. And Arcee finds herself feeling some of that right now, as she approaches the slim girl.

"Miko?" she says softly. "Hey, Miko...are you okay?" She raises her servo, and gently touches Miko's shoulder, and she doesn't take notice, or at least pretends not to, but wait! She's saying something.

"I'm sorry...," sobs Miko. "I'm sorry, I went with Wheeljack, I'm sorry I killed Hardshell, I'm so sorry..."

Arcee feels that heaviness get heavier and heavier, and she brushes her digit comfortingly against the girl's hair. "Shhh...," the femme whispers. "It wasn't your fault..."

"No, I f-fucked up," Miko sniffs. "I'm a-a fuck-up...Optimus always t-tells me I should be careful, that-that I shouldn't keep running off, and, and-" She breaks off, and her crying intensifies into wracking sobs, and she leans into Arcee's arm and makes something like a keening sound. "I j-just fuck things u-up," she sobs. "I m-messed up the f-first time..." Arcee remembers. It was the first time she'd run off with Bulkhead, during Fowler's rescue from the Nemesis. "And then I-I almost got B-Bulkhead k-killed..."

Arcee can feel her tears spilling onto her forearm. She sighs, and shifts around so she can face the girl, and her eyes are red from crying, and her cheeks are streaked with tears, and it makes Arcee's spark clench. "That's all in the past," she says, softly. "I know you feel like you're...like you're just another human to protect...but that was before...this is now, and you're a strong young lady, you'll always stand up for what's right."

"B-But-"

"No, no buts! Listen to me. I know what it's like to see your partner get cut down. I know what it feels like to lose someone you care about. And I know what you feel like right now...But you can't let it consume you like this...So you messed up big time. So what?" Arcee wipes a tear with her pinky digit, as gently as she can. "Look, even if you caused heaps of trouble, you're still Miko. Nothing, and absolutely nothing will change that. There is nothing wrong with you. You are not useless. And you are _not_ a fuck-up. You never were, and you never will be, so stop saying that to yourself, okay?"

Miko sniffs. "Okay..."

And then there's silence, as the two just sit, and the ticking of the monitors and the steady thrum of medical equipment washes over them, and they don't know how long they've been sitting there, before Arcee straightens.

"You need sleep," says the femme. "Let's get you to a bed..." But her words are lost on the young girl, because she's already snoring quietly, and Arcee gently scoops her up in her arms, cradling her all the way to her quarters, where she still had that makeshift bedding left over from when Jack had slept over once.

And as she's laying the blanket over Miko, Arcee remembers. She remembers Cliffjumper telling her to buck up, she remembers him training with her, teaching her, telling her it wasn't her fault that Tailgate died, that it was all in the past, and that she wasn't a glitch-headed scout as she thought herself to be, and that she shouldn't let that guilt take over...

And then she turns around, and she nearly jumps out of her armor when she sees Optimus in the doorway. She's wondering just what in the name of energon is her commander doing up at this hour, when he just nods solemnly and walks off, gently saying, "Much thanks, Arcee...",leaving the blue femme to silently nod quietly to herself.

And so, Arcee climbs back into her berth, and takes one last glance at Miko, who's now sleeping peacefully. And then she closes her optics, and powers down, allowing her to finally catch up on her recharge.


End file.
